The present invention relates generally to equipment support fixtures, and more particularly to a fixture for mounting point of sale equipment on a counter and for managing the cables that interconnect the equipment.
Point of sales equipment has evolved dramatically over the years since the days of the cash register, and is now typically computerized, including in many instances a central processing unit, an input keyboard, a monitor, a printer, a credit card reader, a product code scanner, a telephone, and other now conventional input and output devices. This radical increase in the amount of equipment required to manage retail sales and inventory has created many problems for those designing point of sale fixtures, including how to make the most efficient use of the space allotted to point of sale activities, and how to manage the many cables that extend between and interconnect the equipment without creating an unsightly tangle that interferes with normal sales efforts.
It is conventional in many retail environments to construct a point of sale counter with an underlying shelf on which some of the equipment such as the central processing unit and the cash drawer are mounted. With such an arrangement, the remaining equipment is positioned on the counter top and cables connecting the counter top equipment to the central processing unit are either trained over the front edge of the counter or threaded through access holes drilled through the counter. An unsightly tangle of cables typically results from attempts to bundle the cables and pass them over the edge of the counter. In addition, it is difficult to clean in and around such bundles and they frequently collect dust and debris, giving an unkept appearance.
By providing access holes in the counter, these unattractive cable bundles are hidden from view, and it is much easier to manage and clean the point of sales area. However, access holes represent a permanent alteration to the counter that are not easily covered, and it is troublesome to move the point of sale along the counter without substantially reconstructing the original location on the counter.